"An accidental life", Henna Taylor, USA, 2021, 87'

AN ACCIDENTAL LIFE details the recovery of alpinist and speed climber Quinn Brett who, while at the peak of her athletic career, experienced one of the most traumatic accidents in the history of rock climbing. This story shows the complexity of a whole human being in the midst of extraordinary change. It looks, unflinchingly, at the good, the bad and the quirky of Quinn’s experience as she grapples with life after a near death climbing accident. Having recently been one of North America’s strongest and most accomplished athletes, Quinn’s experience provides viewers with new insights on living with a significant impairment. Her lived experience shared through this film will challenge us to acknowledge stereotypes and perhaps face some of our own prejudices related to able-bodied privilege and profound transformation. While popular media often presents para-sports athlete stories, like Quinn’s, as feel-good tales of epic human achievement with an invincible heroic protagonist at the center, few films have the courage to look at the stories that could end in defeat. Few are bold enough to look closely at those caught in the in between; those who take great risks, fail and suffer loss - those, adapting to a new life.